Conan O'brien To Nbc: Drop Dead

January 13, 2010|By Tom Jicha TV/Radio Writer

Conan O'Brien's wounded pride has given NBC just what it wanted.

O'Brien released a statement Tuesday saying he would not host a Tonight Show that begins at 12:05 a.m. NBC had proposed that Jay Leno, whose low-rated incursion into prime time sparked an affiliate revolt, would do an 11:35 p.m. half-hour, followed by O'Brien's Tonight Show.

O'Brien's feelings are that this would lead to the destruction of one of TV's most enduring franchises. "The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn't The Tonight Show," he said in a statement released to The New York Times.

He pointed out that throughout its history, The Tonight Show had always started immediately after the late local news.

O'Brien's statement is a mix of disappointment and anger. "I grew up with Johnny Carson," he wrote. "The chance to sit in that chair meant everything to me."

O'Brien contends that he was made a scapegoat for NBC's failures, including Leno's 10 p.m. program, although he doesn't mention Leno by name. "It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 [sic] is impossible without both. But sadly, we were never given that chance."

Leno's ratings shortfall at 10 p.m. infuriated NBC affiliates because it diminished the ratings for their late newscasts, important profit centers for local stations. There were reports this week that as many as a third of NBC's partners were threatening to pull the plug on Leno and air their own programming at 10 p.m.

The lower-rated newscasts, in turn, resulted in a lesser lead-in for O'Brien. His version of The Tonight Show, which began only seven months ago, was down about 2 million viewers from what Leno used to draw. Not only has O'Brien been getting trounced by David Letterman, he is also regularly beaten by Nightline in the half-hour when they go head-to-head.

O'Brien's fit of pique opens the way for NBC to restore Jay Leno to a traditional hourlong Tonight Show starting at 11:35, which had to have been the network's preference. NBC planned to make the transition Feb. 28, the night after the Winter Olympics end.

O'Brien didn't indicate immediately if he will keep doing the show until the Feb. 12 start of the Vancouver Games.

O'Brien says he has no offers on the table. "There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what comes next," he wrote.